Enemies and Education
by princesspomegranate
Summary: An argument with Loki leads Sigyn to storm off in anger and frustration. Little does she know that she is about to walk into a whole mess of trouble... LokixSigyn. Post Mischief, Magic and Fidelity. Twoshot.
1. Enemies

It was lucky that Loki and Sigyn's rooms were located so far away from any others, as, otherwise, they likely would have disturbed someone since they'd been arguing for most of the afternoon. It wasn't like them to descend into such lengthy arguments, but they both knew that this had been building for some time. As it was, hours after they had begun, Sigyn had eventually had enough.

"I'm going for a ride," she said finally. "Just leave it alone now, Loki."

She turned for the door, but he was front of her again immediately, intent on stopping her. His hand rested on her shoulder for a moment before she shrugged him off.

"_No_, Loki. Let me go. I've had enough of this arguing."

The anger in her eyes made him pause and he allowed her to slip passed him. He would give her time to calm down before she came back. Or before he went to find her anyway.

* * *

Sigyn went straight for the stables, and she was seething all the way. The cause of her and Loki's argument had appeared trivial to him, though it hadn't to her. She had grown tired of always being told that she should not or could not do something because Loki deemed that it wasn't 'safe'.

At first, she had been able to let those things go, but her husband's continual denial of her attempts to join him in anything he chose to do built up her annoyance with every instance. And Sigyn couldn't just let him stop her from doing any little thing with a remote risk- she'd never leave their rooms if Loki had it his way.

First it was that he wouldn't let her go hunting with him; and then it was that he wouldn't allow her to accompany him when he visited some Lord a while away- and then it was something else. Loki seemed to think that everything was so much more dangerous than it really was.

Sigyn grumbled to herself as she reached the stables. She had magic now, and she could control it. She wasn't nearly as vulnerable as Loki seemed to think- but, still, he said no to any request that she made. And it had really gotten on her last nerve.

So when Loki announced that he, his brother and friends were planning on going hunting not far from the palace, she asked again. She had tried to explain herself, and the reasons why it irked her so much that he denied her- but it was to no avail. Again. It had been the final straw- and the start of their argumentative afternoon.

Sigyn rode out on her horse, Hylling, and tried to put their argument out of her head. It had gone on for far too long and been unproductive, so riding was pleasant in comparison- and it was a nice reprieve from arguing with a master of words that never conceded to let her win. Some time ago, she'd discovered that it was a good way to get away and clear her mind when she was too angry or annoyed.

There was a problem with that solution however, since whenever Sigyn was angry, she didn't focus on her surroundings as well as she should have. Still clouded by her annoyance, she rode into a part of the forest that she had not ventured into before.

And, as a result, she ended up riding into a small clearing, and found herself in the middle of a small camp of three men, sitting around a fire. She stopped abruptly at the sight and stared at the men for a second as some of them stood up.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't realise there was a clearing here."

Sigyn turned her horse to leave, but stopped when she discovered two more men stood behind her. She blinked. _When did they get there?_ she thought with a small frown. As she looked back to the others and found that they had surrounded her. Her eyes flicked between them warily. There were five men in total, and Sigyn didn't like how they were looking at her.

"You don't have to go quite yet, do you lovely?" one of the me that had been sitting said.

That put Sigyn on edge. Her horse seemed nervous too, jittery somehow. To her, this didn't feel like normal behaviour at all; and it was making her feel uneasy.

"Excuse me, I'm afraid I _must_ go," she said, attempting a bravado of 'everything's fine'.

"No, you mustn't," the same man answered.

One of the men tried to grab her horse's reins but she wrenched them away. It didn't take long then for her discomfort to shift into fear. And the situation went from bad to worse when the talkative man pulled out a vicious-looking knife. Sigyn swallowed the lump growing in her throat. This clearly wasn't normal behaviour at all. _Who in Odin's name am I surrounded by?_

"I think I recognise you," he said, flippantly pointing at her with his knife.

Sigyn frowned.

"You're _Loki's_ wife, aren't you?"

She said nothing to that. One of the men on her left fingered the skirt of her dress before she could jerk it away, shifting on her horse.

"I'd say the Green proves it, wouldn't you?" he said, grinning at her attempt to move away from him.

The others nodded and jeered at her.

"How much do you think the God of Lies will pay to get his little wife back?"

Sigyn blinked. _What on Asgard is going on?_ she thought, the beginnings of panic forming in her mind.

"I'm warning you-" Sigyn started.

"No point warning _us_; you were the one brainless enough to come out here alone."

"I didn't come out here alone," she lied quickly.

Apparently, Sigyn was unconvincing however, as one of them replied, "She's not as good a liar as her husband, is she?"

She lifted her chin a little, eyes surveying the man who had spoken. No, she wasn't as good a liar as Loki; she was usually better than in that moment though, but it didn't help that she was more than a little unnerved by the ring of men around her. Sigyn didn't have a chance to respond to their jeering however, because, before she could react, she had been pulled from her horse.

"No- stop!" she yelled as she was yanked to the ground. "Let- go- of- me!"

Struggling all the way, Sigyn kicked out at the figures holding her until they released her. They pushed her harshly away from them and from the security of her horse so she that she couldn't attempt to ride away. She silently cursed herself for not just ploughing the men down and riding away when she'd had the chance.

She looked around quickly, her breathing heavy. They were still surrounding her, and from what she could see, there was no easy way out of the circle of five men. Sigyn made a quick attempt to get passed them, but they pushed her quite harshly back to where she'd stood before.

"You're staying with us," one of the men who pushed her said.

She frowned. She knew that her face was betraying her fear, but she couldn't control her expression right then. She had no idea what these men intended to do with her, but she knew that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Let me leave," Sigyn said, trying to act more calmly than she felt.

Almost collectively, the group sneered at her.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"It's not what _you_ did; it's what your husband did."

Sigyn stared. _Why did they keep bringing up Loki? What connection did he have to these men?_

"Look, I don't know you, and I don't know what problem it is that you have with Loki, but this is wrong. This shouldn't involve me, I have nothing to do with it," she started.

"It has everything to do with you. Word has it that you're the only thing he cares about- so how better to get to the Prince than through you?"

She said nothing.

"What did you expect to happen when you married that bastard trickster God? Being with him has certainly not made you more friends."

The men laughed.

"More enemies perhaps," the one with the knife said, his eyes glinting.

She turned to face him and stared; he was, after all, the most dangerous of them at present.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"We have a grudge to settle with your _funny_ little husband," he finally explained.

"What are you talking about?" she asked quickly.

"He made fools of all of us once upon a time; just for _fun_," the man replied. "How fun do you think he'll find this?"

Sigyn narrowed her eyes as she look at him, not seeing the man behind her who pushed her towards their apparent leader. _There're just too many of them,_ she thought desperately, feeling a hand grab hold of her wrist, swinging her closer to her knife-wielding captor. She sucked in a breath as her back pressed against his chest and he waved his knife tauntingly in front of her.

Sigyn cursed herself once more for not having the forethought to teach herself some defensive spells. She hadn't thought she'd need to- not with how Loki was about her safety. How ironic it seemed that she had ridden off on her own because he wouldn't let her do anything for fear of it being too dangerous; and, as soon as she had, she'd run straight into trouble. Now she was scared. Really scared.

* * *

Loki gave his wife only a ten minute head start before he went after her. His plan was to let her calm down alone for a time, but to find her before she returned. He had no intention of leaving her when she was in such a mood. He had watched her ready her horse from the shadows, unsurprised that she had chosen to go riding- she did that from time to time when she was angry.

And every time, Loki had ridden just ten minutes or so behind her, sticking to the shadows- and this time was no exception. He followed her tracks, and saw that, after a while, she had disappeared into the forest. Loki had a bad feeling about that, and his ill suspicions were only confirmed when he heard voices from ahead. Unless her horse had learnt to speak, Sigyn was no longer alone. And it seemed that her company was less than friendly.

Loki rode his horse into the clearing, quickening at the sound of the numerous voices. He couldn't have been more angered and shocked at what he saw, though he masked his feelings well when he looked upon the scene before him. It wasn't the five men that surprised him, it was the fact that they were surrounding his wife and that one of them held her from behind by her wrists, keeping her still with a blade that was _far_ too close to her for his liking.

"Loki!" Sigyn shouted, before quick thinking had a knife pressed against her throat.

That silenced her. Her free hand went for the wrist of the man holding her, but she couldn't budge that blade. Despite their previous argument, she couldn't have been more pleased to see her husband right then. Though Loki didn't make a move immediately, as she had thought he might; he simply stared for a moment. Then he dismounted- almost calmly, it seemed.

"Take your hands off of her," he ordered, quietly calm though anger seethed beneath his voice.

"We weren't born yesterday, _your majesty_," one replied, mocking Loki's title.

"Oh? Then perhaps you are not as dim as I thought."

"Of course we aren't," one of the men snapped.

"Tell me this then; where is it you think you're going to go after this?" Loki asked. "Using the title you so mocked, I can ensure you are found where ever you run and where ever you try to hide. Let my wife go now and we can avoid all this."

Two of the men stole anxious looks at each other but the others did not budge.

"You don't remember us do you, Silvertongue?" one man ventured.

Loki looked at him for a second and muttered, "Of course I do. I remember everyone that I make into a fool, and you five are no exception- though, admittedly, you were fools before I met you."

The men didn't seem to like that reply, and Sigyn felt the knife at her neck press into her skin slightly. She winced- more at the anticipation of pain than the actual feeling. It was enough to make Loki pause and become serious again however.

"What are you going to give us to let her go?" the most confident of the men, the one holding Sigyn, questioned.

"I'll give you a quick death," Loki answered simply.

They stared.

"You're a scrawny little liar of a Prince," the man replied. "You aren't going to kill us, you haven't got the courage or the skill."

"You talk of courage whilst you're holding my wife against you as a shield, how interesting," Loki noted.

The man faltered, then he shook his head. He was determined not to become entangled in Silvertongue's web of words as he once had been.

"No more talking," he said, pressing the knife just that little bit closer to Sigyn's throat.

She inhaled sharply.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Loki warned, his eyes flashing.

The man gave a cruel laugh in Sigyn's ear and she winced at the sound.

"You're hardly in a position to demand anything. Now, what are you prepared to give us to ensure that we don't cut your wife's pretty little throat?"

"I will give you nothing," Loki answered, his voice eerily calm again. "Now let us try this one last time; let her go."

The man took no heed of Loki's words, even if his companions were becoming a little uneasy. He clearly felt more confident with his shield and bargaining power than they did. In fact, just to flaunt the power he assumed he had, he pulled Sigyn back to him and inhaled, his nose buried in her hair. The attempted display of power made her feel sick, and it was enough to prompt Loki into motion.

He had given them enough of an opportunity to let Sigyn go- now was his time to act. He sent a small dagger flying into the man behind his wife, knocking him to the ground but leaving her standing. The other men were dispatched quickly, their attempts at fighting the Prince pathetic at best.

Loki strode over to Sigyn, who remained where she'd been standing, looking somewhat shocked as she stared at the recently deceased men who were bleeding out into the grass, each with precisely-thrown identical daggers embedded into their bodies. Loki had to tap her shoulder to regain her attention, and when he did, she looked at him with bleary eyes.

"You're not hurt?" he asked.

Sigyn shook her head slowly. At that, Loki nodded and turned to his next order of business. The man that had held his wife at knifepoint, the one he'd hit with a dagger, was still alive. Loki knew where he had aimed that blade and he wanted to witness the man's pain as death called to him.

Loki crouched down beside the man, who was by now finding breathing hard, and found that he could hear the blood bubbling in his throat. Picking up the blade that had been used to threaten Sigyn, Loki plunged it into the already-dying man's stomach, maliciously twisting the knife.

"Please!" the man cried.

"I warned you," Loki whispered.

The man screamed under the torment of Loki's hand.

"Stop it," Sigyn said. "Stop it, Loki. Enough."

Sigyn's hand was on his arm, and it took Loki a minute to come back to her. He was so engulfed in his momentary vengeance for the sake of his wife, that he had not considered her feelings of what he did. He stopped abruptly and stood up, not waiting to see the light leave the eyes of his victim.

"Loki..." Sigyn murmured quietly.

He held her to him, knowing that she was close to tears. He wasn't surprised at all when she started to cry into his shirt as the realisation of what could easily have happened dawned on her.

"Shhh, little Sigyn. You are safe now."

"I... I know... _Now_..."

"Relax," he soothed, attempting to quell he tears.

Loki comforted his wife for a while, until he suggested that they leave before any wildlife was attracted to the smell of blood and death. Nodding mutely, the two rode back to the palace together and returned to their rooms. Sigyn refused to leave her husband's side for the rest of the day. _That's the way it should be_, Loki thought.

He wouldn't admit it, especially since he more than abhorred those men he'd killed, but Loki was glad that Sigyn finally understood the dangers of being his wife. The dangers that he had tried not to tell her about by pretending that other things were more dangerous.

The truth was, he had more enemies than was safe for his wife to be near- and he wanted to keep her as far away from them as he could.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, that was a pretty bad day for Sigyn really... At east Loki was there eventually. ;) There should be either one or two chapters (depending on length) more of this; though I'm starting back at University today (that's why I'm up at the ungodly hour of 7am (I'm a student- any morning hour is ungodly)), so I don't know how long it may be before the next chapter appears. :) Hope you enjoyed it and will let me know what you think! :)**

**Kit xx**


	2. Education

In light of what had happened when Sigyn had ridden off alone, Loki thought it would be a valuable use of time to instruct Sigyn in the art of defending herself. When he had made the suggestion, his wife had been more than enthusiastic- it appeared that being held at knifepoint had made her think more carefully about her safety. For that, at least, Loki was glad. Sigyn _did_ need to be careful.

So Loki took it upon himself to something that no one expected. While Sigyn had confined herself to their rooms in order to complete what she called her 'office hours of godly duties', Loki visited someone that he would not usually seek out.

On the other side of the palace, he knocked on the door to her rooms, knowing that Lady Sif was inside. When she opened the door however, Sif was less than impressed to see that it was Loki outside.

Immediately frowning, she said, "What do you want?"

"It's nice to see you too," Loki replied with a raised brow.

Sif said nothing to that, and merely gave him an unimpressed glare until he answered her question.

"I'm here on behalf of my wife."

Sif narrowed her eyes and said, "Oh? Is there a reason she cannot be here herself?"

Loki rolled his eyes.

"She's busy right now," he answered dismissively. "Anyway, Sigyn would like to learn how to defend herself, should the occasion call for it."

Sif stared at the prince as if she couldn't believe what he was saying. Loki understood that look since, admittedly, Sigyn hadn't spoken of what had happened in the forest to anyone beside Odin, who had _had_ to be informed since Loki had killed the men responsible.

"What situation are you planning on putting her into where she would _need_ to defend herself?"

Loki scowled and quickly replied, "If I have anything to say about it then she'll never need to use what she learns. If I have it my way, then I will always be there to keep her safe."

"Then why-"

"In case I'm late," he answered simply.

Sif said nothing for a moment as she considered his point.

"What is it that you're asking of me, Loki?"

"I want you to teach her to fight."

Sif stared. The Sigyn that she knew did not seem that she was someone who wanted to fight- she was more of an academic than a fighter.

"She doesn't have to be brilliant," Loki continued. "I just want her to be competent enough to be safe."

"And that's what _you_ want?" Sif asked sceptically.

"Trust me, it's what Sigyn wants too," Loki clarified.

"Trust you?" Sif scoffed.

"A poor choice of words perhaps," he smirked.

"I'll say."

"If you won't take my word, then you should speak to Sigyn. I've no doubt that she will explain," Loki said. "Will you agree to it?"

"One question before I answer; why don't _you_ teach her?"

"Sigyn is too close to me-"

Sif held up a hand immediately to stop him, "Wait a second, Loki- I don't need to hear about how 'close' you two are. That is too much information and a visual image I did not need."

"I doubt that my wife would be too happy if I discussed anything like that with _you_," he smirked. "I merely meant that it would be too easy for me to distract Sigyn in physical combat. I will teach her magical defences."

Sif nodded slowly.

"Besides, no one knows better than you the most efficient ways for a woman to fight."

She raised her brows and asked, "For a woman?"

"For _anyone_," Loki corrected himself smoothly. "But I know that you are the most qualified and skilled to tutor Sigyn in how she should use her slight body to defend herself; especially since you yourself have beaten so many adversaries of greater strength and build."

Sif narrowed her eyes as she replied, "Glad to hear you finally admit that, Loki."

He inclined his head and waited for her answer.

"I'll do it- but for Sigyn, not you."

"My thanks," Loki replied and he turned away swiftly.

"Send her here to meet me tomorrow."

He said nothing to that and merely walked away. He didn't let his smirk show until he was far enough away from Sif so that she couldn't have seen it. She was too easy to convince. All that he'd had to do was string the right words together and she'd done exactly as he wished.

The next day, Sigyn met Sif outside of her rooms, and the dark-haired woman would admit that she was a little surprised that Sigyn had actually turned up. She still found it a little odd that she was being asked to instruct her friend in the art of fighting. Certainly, Sigyn had a temper, but Sif hadn't thought she'd shown any previous inclination towards such a thing. Therefore, she was eager to discover her friend's motives.

It quickly became clear though, that Sigyn needed some time before she revealed what was troubling her, so Sif did not question her reluctance immediately. Instead, she led her to the field that she and the others in the palace used to train. For her part, Sigyn was a little in awe. She'd never seen where they trained before, and in truth she wondered how she could have missed the place.

The field was huge, and the grass was cut short to accommodate their practicing- at least at its centre. There were other parts of it that were obviously constructed to simulate different environments and terrains, for instance, Sigyn spotted a number of rocks and small, cliff-like edges that looked to be interesting.

Sif caught her friend admiring the training field, and paused. She still couldn't quite put her finger on why Sigyn- and Loki for that matter- had asked her to become a teacher. Her only solution to that problem, she knew, was to ask however.

"Why do you really want to do this, Sigyn?" Sif asked, giving her a levelling glance.

Sigyn bit her lip and turned to face her friend. She had been expecting Sif to ask that question- so far things had gone a little too smoothly. After taking her time to think things over, Sigyn slowly explained the incident in the woods, and as she did, Sif listened carefully to her and said nothing. She almost wouldn't believe what she was being told; _almost_. The fact that it was Loki's fault that Sigyn was attacked, however, made it more feasible.

"To be honest, I don't know why I didn't just ride away," Sigyn admitted eventually. "I guess I'd just never been in a situation like that before- I didn't know what to do... I don't think I was thinking clearly."

Sif placed a gentle hand over her friend's. She could tell that Sigyn was working herself up into a fluster and she didn't want her to do that.

"It's alright though, isn't it?" Sif reassured. "You're fine now, and that's why we're here."

Sigyn nodded.

"Sorry... that's why I didn't want to explain..."

"It's alright. Shall we begin then?" Sif suggested quickly.

"Yes," she answered, nodding again.

For her part, Sif felt a lot better about teaching Sigyn now that she knew her reasoning.

"So you want to learn to defend yourself then?"

Sigyn nodded.

"Well don't get angry with me," Sif warned.

"Why would I get angry with you?" Sigyn asked, a little confused.

Sif tilted her head to the side and answered, "Because before today is through, I'm probably going to have hit you a fair amount."

Sigyn stared, and with a shrug, reasoned, "I suppose I have only myself to blame for my bruises."

At that, her friend smiled. She'd hoped that Sigyn might be alright with that- although admittedly, that was before Sif had begun her teaching. She knew that afterwards might be a different matter completely.

The two women practiced together for days, and true to Sif's words, Sigyn spent a lot of time being hit and, most often, knocked on her backside. They started with basic self defence; certain dodging techniques and effective manoeuvres to get an opponent to release their hold were first on the list.

When Sif felt that her student was competent enough in those areas, she started Sigyn with a dagger. However, Sigyn didn't appear to like training with a dagger, and Sif soon returned their training to hand-to-hand combat. She was determined to at least train her friend to defend herself as best as she possibly could without a weapon since she didn't want to work _with_ one.

After a week, Loki thought that it was time to check up on his wife's progress, so in true God of Mischief and Lies style, he spied on her training session even though he had promised not to. And what he saw impressed him. For a novice, Sigyn was doing rather well. He would have to give Sif credit here; she _was_ a good teacher.

Loki watched for a while, but observation was never something that he could restrain himself to. He waited until his wife had readied herself for another of Sif's attacks- since this one was supposed to be from behind, Loki just couldn't resist. Holding a finger to his lips as Sif noticed him, Loki approached his wife in the warrior woman's place.

He snuck up behind her and grabbed her, pretending to be Sif. And he paid the price for it when Sigyn knocked her elbow back and hit him square in the chest. She turned around swiftly as he released her, satisfied with her work- until she realised that it wasn't Sif that was behind her.

Clapping her hands over her mouth, she said, "Oh my- Loki! What are you doing here?"

Sif just burst out laughing from where she stood behind the two of them.

"That'll teach you to cause mischief around your wife," she chuckled.

Loki rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me it was Loki?" Sigyn asked with a small frown.

"Rather him than me," she grinned back.

Loki shot her an annoyed glance as what he had thought was a good thing- Sif allowing him to trick his wife- had backfired on him. His rib hurt a little- after all, his wife had given quite a hit. He would definitely have a bruise there. Sif _was_ a good teacher.

"What are you doing here, Loki?" Sigyn asked.

Straightening, he gave a slightly amused smirk.

"I think it is about time that I took over your training."

Sigyn just stared, whereas Sif raised her brows.

"I thought you were too close to her to teach her?" Sif queried.

"Physically, yes; but I want to make sure that my wife is prepared magically also."

The two women looked at the God of Mischief until he continued.

"And who better to have as a teacher in that?" he smirked.

"Modest," Sigyn winked, ignoring the grin he gave her in return.

With that though, Sif rolled her eyes and started moving away from the couple. She knew that Loki had wanted to instruct her magically, but she hadn't realised that he would want to do it so soon.

"Right, well if that's going to happen, then I'm leaving."

Sigyn turned to her friend, confused, and asked, "What- why?"

Sif raised her brows.

"If Loki and magic are involved then there's bound to be trouble- and it probably won't end well for either me or him."

Loki shrugged.

"I'd disagree, but she's probably right," he conceded.

And with that, Sif left the two of them to begin the first of many magical training sessions. Loki was glad to see his wife progress; he had seen his wife in danger once because she hadn't known how to defend herself; and he was going to ensure that that never happened again.

**Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to finish this and get it posted, I've been busy. :/ Good news though, I can get to work on the next chaptered part of Loki and Sigyn's story, set during Thor, The Avengers and the time in between the two films. :D**

**Hope you liked the chapter and will let me know what you think! :)**

**I'm off to work... Late, late, late...**

**Kit xx**


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